Face it: Honda’s been the best in the business at building cars in the Fit’s segment since it was really the Civic’s segment. The new-for-2015 model won’t exactly inspire confidence in Toyota Yaris salespeople across America, either.
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The 1965 Porsche 911 Targa has always been a bit unloved by the Porsche purist. The higher roofline of the Targa compromised the slick silhouette of the 911 that made it so iconic. It was something of a knee-jerk reaction to impending safety regulations by the NHTSA. Porsche thought that convertibles were soon to be made illegal, so the Targa offered a steel roll bar and removable roof section to fill the gap.

Fortunately, that fearful day for Porsche never came, and the targa departed the lineup in 1989, having been vastly supplanted in popularity by the full-droptop 911. This doesn’t stop Porsche from occasionally playing with its history.
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The all-wheel drive 2014 Golf R packs 290 hp and 280 ft-lb of torque, shoves it down your choice of either a six speed manual or six speed dual-clutch transmission, and hauls the compact hot hatch to sixty in 4.9 seconds. That’s about a second quicker to sixty than the outgoing Golf R… (Read More…)

The Dune concept aims to be a moderately functional addition the the Bettle lineup. VW raised the Beetle’s ride height by two inches, giving the Beetle a more “go anywhere” appeal. An inch wider track, and mighty 255/45 tires on 19 inch wheels round out the stance. The Dune hides a few clever tricks in its appearance package, however…
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Tacky graphics, redline wheels, hotglued industrial adhesive attached spoiler and painted red calipers. I know this is an AMG, but can we tone down the try-hard looks? There’s a reason successful young Mercedes-Benz buyers don’t shop at Autozone for “accent pieces”, and it is not because they want the junk factory-installed.

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The Z06 has usually been a trickle-down of the Corvette GT car. Aero tweaks were unique to the .R, tricks like hood-evacuated radiator air flow, rear-fender mounted cooling ducts for various cooling system (like the differential), and a rear diffuser.  Now that the C7 boasts these tweaks from the get-go, the C7.R more closely resembles its street brethren than ever before…

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No other car on the planet combines technological supremacy and ventricle-bursting depreciation like a modern V-12-powered Mercedes-Benz. For the newest take on the formula, the automaker’s turned all the knobs to 11.
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The outgoing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 was arguably one of the most admirable products in automotive history and certainly the most focused Corvette ever sold to the American public. Its replacement has more of what the people who actually buy Corvettes truly want.

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The 2015 BMW M3/4 debuts at Detroit with a host of “adding lightness” and a healthy step up in power from the outgoing M3.

The high-winding 4L V8 is replaced by a direct-injected turbo 3L straight six with 425 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque, while dropping 20 pounds off the motor’s weight. The six speed is a carry over, but now gains auto rev-matching for those panty-dropping rev-matched downshifts. The alternative is a seven speed “M-DCT” dual clutch transmission. 0 to 60 is in a scant 4.1 seconds for the manual, and 3.9 seconds for the M-DCT…
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The “Future Toyota” numero uno, or FT-1, is supposed to be Toyota’s top RWD sports car. At least in concept form. What we get is a taste of Toyota’s future design language, calling the FT-1 the  “spiritual pace car for Toyota Global Design.” It’s almost a caricature of the FRS, with its spin on long hood/short deck styling, but with attention paid to housing some interesting aerodynamic tricks. Strategically placed vents that point at the use of extractors, and rear diffuser work stand out. There’s even some F1 styling cues: obviously in the powerful nose, but also in the rear LED “rain light.” Powertrain options are held quiet, but out of the hood peeks a longitudinally mounted engine for everyone to place bets on…

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We all knew it would be a relative of the Cherokee and Dart, but the new Chrysler 200 offers at least one whiz-bang feature to go along with the aggressive styling.
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The North American Car Of The Year for 2014 is the brilliant new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.

So, if you were waiting for your Corvette purchase to be approved by a mostly faceless group of industry insiders (to be fair, I count about ten “shoes” in the group as well) then you can go ahead and place that deposit.

Josh writes:

Sajeev –

Great news! After research, waiting, and a little bit of compromise, I have finally bought my first ‘real’ car. Last month, I bought a ’05 BMW 645i convertible with very low mileage and a clean bill of health. It is wonderful and brings me a little joy every time I start it.

Bad news! The country is currently gripped in a cold snap the likes of which we haven’t seen in 2 decades, and also, by the way, I live in Denver. (Read More…)

With an aluminum body on a steel frame, a la Spen King Range Rover, the new F-150 is up to seven hundred pounds lighter than its predecessor.
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So, it’s mechanically identical to the Colorado. But it comes in brown.